Technology

Angry Birds maker to launch new game - from Tacoma!

Submitted by Halley Griffin, KOMO Communities Reporter
Friday, May 11th, 2012, 10:10am
Angry Birds maker to launch new game - from Tacoma!

A little piece of Tacoma is just months away from appearing on mobile devices around the world.

Finnish mobile games developer Rovio announced today that it will launch a successor to "Angry Birds" in the next few months.

The game? Casey's Contraptions, from none other than Tacoma company Mystery Coconut.

The man behind Mystery Coconut is Tacoma resident Miguel Ángel Friginal.

The Mystery Coconut website describes the company as "a multimillion dollar international corporation wannabe, that for now employs (as in giving work, not as in paying for their subsistence) a guy and his wife (to the right), three cats (below) and the many supporters, family, and friends that now suffer never-ending questions about each minor beta release."

Rovio CEO Mikael Hed told Finnish YLE TV that the game will be renamed "Amazing Alex."

The game has players helping a young boy get his toys back by building crazy contraptions, creating "Rube Goldberg-like machines," and solving puzzles and scenarios.

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Remember: you can check Urgent Care wait times at home before you go

Submitted by Halley Griffin, KOMO Communities Reporter
Monday, March 26th, 2012, 10:00am
Remember: you can check Urgent Care wait times at home before you go

Need a doctor? Don't have time to wait? An online service launched by MultiCare in December may be able to help you out.

Urgent Care wait times are now available online, at www.multicare.org/waittimes. Estimated wait times are generated based on how many people are currently in the clinics, and give patients an idea of how long it could take for them to be taken to an exam room. 

"The reason we're able to do these kinds of things is because MultiCare is one of the few health systems in the United States to have a complete electronic health record system, which we began in 1998," says MultiCare representative Cole Cosgrove.

Urgent Care clinics exist to help people who are ill or injured but whose conditions don't pose an immediate, significant risk to their lives or health.

A list of Urgent Care clinics is available here.

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Remember: you can check Urgent Care wait times at home before you go

Submitted by Halley Griffin, KOMO Communities Reporter
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012, 11:00am
Remember: you can check Urgent Care wait times at home before you go

Need a doctor? Don't have time to wait? An online service launched by MultiCare in December may be able to help you out.

Urgent Care wait times are now available online, at www.multicare.org/waittimes. Estimated wait times are generated based on how many people are currently in the clinics, and give patients an idea of how long it could take for them to be taken to an exam room. 

"The reason we're able to do these kinds of things is because MultiCare is one of the few health systems in the United States to have a complete electronic health record system, which we began in 1998," says MultiCare representative Cole Cosgrove.

Urgent Care clinics exist to help people who are ill or injured but whose conditions don't pose an immediate, significant risk to their lives or health.

A list of Urgent Care clinics is available here.

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Gene Juarez makeovers aim to make you look hot on Facebook

Submitted by Jill Blocker, KOMO Communities Reporter
Monday, March 19th, 2012, 11:39am
Gene Juarez makeovers aim to make you look hot on Facebook

Here’s a way to make all your Facebook friends jealous about how good you look: Gene Juarez Salons and Spas is launching their “Facebook Beautification Project happy hour events,” which gives guests a makeover and professional photograph specifically for their Facebook profile picture.

The event takes place at Gene Juarez’s 10 area salons March 19 thru April 17.

Here’s more about the event:

Guests who register for one of the happy hour events will receive a Gene Juarez shampoo and blowdry service or custom haircut and a “quick and easy spring makeup look” for just $40. Guests can then have their picture snapped by a professional, giving them the ultimate Facebook profile picture. Attendees will win prizes, receive a swag gift bag and enjoy wine and appetizers. There will even be fun demos to help guests learn new ways to look and feel amazing including; how to create simple and gorgeous day to night looks, how to get the latest spring looks with styling tools, skincare tips and tools to prepare your skin for the season and more.

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Bellarmine robotics team headed to world championship

Submitted by Halley Griffin, KOMO Communities Reporter
Friday, March 16th, 2012, 9:15am

Outsiders may say what they will about Tacoma, but after last weekend there's no doubting that we know our robotics.

Thirty-five Bellarmine Preparatory School students blew the competition out of the water at last weekend's regional FIRST Robotics Competition in Portland, Ore., qualifying the team for next month's FIRST World Championships in Saint Louis.

FIRST Robotics Competition is an annual competition that pits high school students against each other in a sports-like competition in the field of science and technology.

This year's challenge, Rebound RumbleSM, was to build a robot that could play a modified game of basketball.

The Bellarmine Preparatory School team, Team 360 - The Revolution, spent six weeks after school and on weekends preparing their presentation and preparing and testing a robot: Rainmaker 13.

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Quick note, Pierce County Library let's you download e-books for free

Submitted by KOMO Staff
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011, 4:31pm

Did you get an iPad, Kindle or other e-book reader this holiday?

Don’t forget the Pierce County Library allows you to download free e-books and audiobooks for free with a library card.

Check their website for all the details.

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Battle of the smartphones goes down in Tacoma

Submitted by Halley Griffin, KOMO Communities Reporter
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011, 2:42pm

Has anyone caught this new T-Mobile commercial during the breaks of your favorite show (ahem, KOMO 4 News)?

Think the background looks familiar? You're right - it's none other than Tacoma's own Dorky's Arcade.

The bar-arcade has been hinting on Facebook for weeks about something exciting being filmed on the premises, and today they finally broke the news.

The commercials pit an Amaze 4G and an iPhone 4S against eachother in a battle that fits right in with the arcade backdrop.

Not bad, Tacoma! What do you think?

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